February 26, 2008

Anonymous asks: "As for your hostility towards Christians, I don't know what has happened in your past for you to feel such angst towards them. I hope you have not hardened your heart too much to them."

Seriously? What has happened in my past?

Here's a sampling:

240 AD Origen of Alexandria writes that the Jews "have committed the most abominable of crimes" in conspiring against Christ, and for that reason "the Jewish nation was driven from its country, and another people was called by God tothe blessed election"

248 AD St. Cyprian writes that the Jews have fallen under the heavy wrath of God, because they have departed from the Lord, and have followed idols

306 AD The Council of Elvira decrees that Christians and Jews cannot intermarry, have sexual intercourse, or eat together

325 AD Conversation and fellowship with Jews is forbidden to the clergy by the Council of Nicaea

4th century AD Christian emperors of Rome decree that Christians converting to Judaism, and Jews obstructing the conversion of other Jews to Christianity, will incur the death penalty; Jews can not marry Christians, or hold public office, or own slaves

380 AD St. Gregory of Nyssa refers to the Jews as "murderers of the Lord, assassins of the prophets, rebels and detesters of God,... companions of the devil, race of vipers, informers, calumniators, darkeners of the mind, pharisaic leaven, Sanhedrin of demons, accursed, detested,... enemies of all that is beautiful"

380 AD St. Ambrose calls the synagogue "a place of unbelief, a home of impiety, a refuge of insanity, damned by God Himself"

388 AD A mob of Christians, at the instigation of their bishop, looted and burned the synagogue in Callinicum, a town on the Euphrates. The Emperor Theodosius wants those responsible punished and the synagogue rebuilt at the expense of the bishop, but St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, pressures him to relent and condone the action

400 AD St. Augustine writes: "the Church admits and avows the Jewish people to be cursed, because after killing Christ they continue to till the ground of an earthly circumcision, an earthly Sabbath, an earthly passover, while the hidden strength or virtue of making known Christ, which this tilling contains, is not yielded to the Jews while they continue in impiety and unbelief, for it is revealed in the New Testament. While they will not turn to God, the veil which is on their minds in reading the Old Testament is not taken away... the Jewish people, like Cain, continue tilling the ground, in the carnal observance of the law, which does not yield to them its strength, because they do not perceive in it the grace of Christ"

400 AD Calling the synagogue "brothel and theater" and "a cave of pirates and the lair of wild beasts," St. John Chrysostom writes that "the Jews behave no better than hogs and goats in their lewd grossness and the excesses of their gluttony"

413 AD A group of monks sweep through Palestine, destroying synagogues and massacring Jews at the Western Wall

414 AD St. Cyril of Alexandria expels Jews from his city

425 AD Jews are required by law to observe Christian feasts and fasts and to listen to sermons designed to persuade them to convert

442 AD The synagogue in Constantinople is turned into a church

529-553 AD The Code of the emperor Justinian decrees that in Christian Byzantine society Jews cannot read their sacred books in Hebrew in their synagogues, and the Mishnah and other rabbinic interpretations are banned

538 AD The Third Synod of Orléans decrees that Jews cannot show themselves in the streets during Passover Week

591 AD Pope St. Gregory the Great decrees that Jews are not to be forced into baptism "lest they return to their former superstition and die the worse for having been born again"

600 AD Pope St. Gregory the Great decrees that Jews should not have excessive freedom, but also "in no way should they suffer a violation of their rights"

681 AD The Synod of Toledo orders the burning of the Talmud and other books

830 AD Agobard, Archbishop of Lyons, writes anti-Jewish pamphlets in which he refers to Jews as "sons of darkness"

937 AD Pope Leo VII encourages his newly appointed archbishop of Mainz to expel all Jews who refuse to be baptized

c. 1010-1020 AD In Rouen, Orléans, Limoges, Mainz, and probably also in Rome, Jews are converted by force, massacred, or expelled

1050 AD The Synod of Narbonne decrees that Christians are not permitted to live in Jewish homes

1070 AD Pope Alexander II warns the bishops of Spain to prevent violence against the Jews because, unlike the Saracens, they "are prepared to live in servitude"

1078 AD The Synod of Gerona decrees that Jews must pay the same taxes as Christians to support the church

1081 AD Pope Gregory VII writes to King Alphonso of Spain telling him that if he allows Jews to be lords over Christians, he is oppressing the Church and exalting "the Synagogue of Satan"

1084 AD Rüdiger, bishop of Speyer, grants the Jews a charter allowing them to keep Christian servants and serfs, own fields and vineyards, and carry arms

1096 AD Massacres of Jews takes place in the First Crusade, destroying entire Jewish communities in Mainz, Speyer, Worms, Cologne and other cities. The Jewish chronicler reports: "The enemies stripped them naked and dragged them off, granting quarter to none, save those few who accepted baptism. The number of the slain was eight hundred in these two days." The chronicler Guibert de Nogent reports that the Rouen Crusaders said: "We desire to go and fight God's enemies in the East; but we have before our eyes certain Jews, a race more inimical to God than any other"

1182 AD Jews are expelled from France, all their property is confiscated, and Christians' debts to them are cancelled with the payment of one-fifth of their value to the treasury

1190 AD The Third Crusade, led by Richard the Lion-Heart, stirs anti-Jewish fervor and results in the mass suicide of the York Jews in Clifford's Tower on March 16

1198 AD Jews are allowed to return to France

1199 AD Pope Innocent III decrees that Jews are to be allowed to worship in their synagogues, they are not to be coerced into baptism, and that Jewish cemeteries are not to be mutilated

1215 AD The Fourth Lateran Council decrees that Jews are to wear distinctive clothing, and on the three days before Easter they are not to go out in public

1222 AD The Council of Oxford prohibits the construction of new synagogues

1227 AD The Council of Narbonne orders Jews to wear a round patch

1230 AD Jews in France are forbidden to lend money on interest

1234 AD The Council of Arles orders Jews to wear a round patch

1235 AD Thirty-four Jews are burned to death in Fulda on a blood-libel charge

1246 AD The Council of Béziers orders Jews to wear a round patch

1247 AD Pope Innocent IV defends the Jews: "they are wrongly accused of partaking of the heart of a murdered child at the Passover... Whenever a corpse is found somewhere, it is to the Jews that the murder is wickedly imputed. They are persecuted on the pretext of such fables... they are deprived of trial and of regular judgment; in mockery of all justice, they are stripped of their belongings, starved, imprisoned and tortured"

1254 AD The Council of Albi orders Jews to wear a round patch

1260 AD The Council of Arles orders Jews to wear a round patch, but not when traveling

1267 AD The Synod of Vienna decrees that Christians cannot attend Jewish ceremonies, and Jews cannot dispute with simple Christian people about the Catholic religion

1267 AD The Synod of Breslau decrees compulsory ghettos for Jews

1267 AD Pope Clement IV instructs the Franciscans and Dominicans to deal with the "new Christians" who had reverted to Judaism

c. 1270 AD St. Thomas Aquinas writes that the Jews sin more in their unbelief than do pagans because they have abandoned the way of justice "after knowing it in some way"

1272 AD Pope Gregory X defends the Jews: "It happens sometimes that Christians lose their children and that the enemies of the Jews accuse them of having kidnaped and killed these children in order to offer sacrifices with their heart and blood, and it also happens that the parents themselves, or other Christians who are enemies to the Jews, hide the children and attack the Jews, demanding of them, as ransom, a certain sum of money, on the entirely false pretext that these children had been kidnaped and killed by the Jews"

1294 AD Jews in France are restricted to special quarters of the cities

1294 AD Jews are expelled from Bern

1298 AD The Jews of Röttingen, charged with profaning the Host, are massacred and burned down to the last one

1320 AD The "Shepherds' Crusade." A Christian chronicler records: "The shepherds laid siege to all the Jews who had come from all sides to take refuge... the Jews defended themselves heroically... but their resistance served no purpose, for the shepherds slaughtered a great number of the besieged Jews by smoke and by fire... The Jews, realizing that they would not escape alive, preferred to kill themselves... They chose one of their number (and) this man put some five hundred of them to death, with their consent. He then descended from the castle tower with the few Jewish children who still remained alive... They killed him by quartering. They spared the children, whom they made Catholics by baptism"

1326 AD The Council of Avignon orders Jews to wear a round patch, but not when traveling

1345 AD King John authorizes his subjects in Liegnitz and Breslau to destroy the Jewish cemeteries in order to use the tombstones to repair the city walls

1347-1350 AD During the Black Death, Jews are accused of poisoning wells in order to overthrow Christendom, and many thousands of Jews are killed. Pope Clement VI defends the Jews against these charges

1350 AD Jews are expelled from many parts of Germany

1367 AD Jews are expelled from Hungary

1368 AD The Council of Vabres orders Jews to wear a round patch

1381 AD Jews are expelled from Strasbourg

1394 AD The expulsion of Jews from France, begun in 1306, is completed with an edict promulgated on the Jewish Day of Atonement

1420 AD Jews are expelled from Mainz by the archbishop

1421 AD Jews are expelled from Austria

1424 AD Jews are expelled from Fribourg and Zurich

c. 1425 AD Pope Martin V denounces anti-Jewish preaching and forbids the forced baptism of Jewish children under the age of twelve

1426 AD Jews are expelled from Cologne

1432 AD Jews are expelled from Saxony

1434 AD The Council of Basel decrees that Jews cannot obtain academic degrees

1435 AD King Alfonso orders the Jews of Sicily to attach a round patch to their clothing and over their shops

1438 AD Jews are expelled from Mainz by the town councilors

1439 AD Jews are expelled from Augsburg

1453 AD Jews are expelled from Wurzburg

1454 AD Jews are expelled from Breslau

1456 AD Pope Callistus III bans all social communication between Christians and Jews

1462 AD Jews are expelled from Mainz following a conflict between two candidates for the archepiscopal seat

1467 AD Jews are expelled from Tlemcen

1471 AD Jews are expelled from Mainz by the archbishop

1475 AD The entire Jewish community in Trent, northern Italy, is put to death on the allegation that it had murdered a boy for religious purposes

1485 AD Jews are expelled from Warsaw and Cracow

1492 AD After forcing many Jews to be baptized and then referring to them as Marranos (swine), and after an Inquisition in which some 700 Marranos were burnt at the stake for showing signs of "Jewish" taint, Spain expels all Jews from the country

1497 AD Jews are expelled from Portugal

1519 AD Jews are expelled from Regensburg

1553 AD Cardinal Carafa instigates a public burning of copies of the Talmud and other Jewish religious works in a square in Rome

1555-1559 AD Pope Paul IV restricts Jews to ghettos and decrees that they are to wear distinctive headgear

1566-1572 AD Pope St. Pius V expels Jews from the Papal States, allowing some to remain in Rome's ghettos and in Ancona for commercial reasons

1592-1605 AD Pope Clement VIII includes a ban on all Jewish books in the expanded Index of Forbidden Books

1826 AD Pope Leo XII decrees that Jews are to be confined to ghettos and their property is to be confiscated

1858 AD Edgardo Mortara, 6-year old son of a Jewish family in Bologna, is abducted by the papal police and brought to Rome. He had been secretly baptized five years earlier by a domestic servant who thought he was about to die. The parents try to get the boy back, and there is a universal outcry, but Pope Pius IX rejects all petitions submitted to him

1904 AD In an interview with Zionist leader Theodor Hertzl, Pope St. Pius X says: "I know, it is disagreeable to see the Turks in possession of our Holy Places. We simply have to put up with it. But to sanction the Jewish wish to occupy these sites, that we cannot do... The Jews have not recognized our Lord, therefore we cannot recognize the Jewish people... If you go to Palestine and your people settle there, you will find us clergy and churches ready to baptize you all"

1919 AD Newly independent Poland passes a law making Sunday a compulsory day of rest in Poland. The law is intended to force Jews to observe the Christian sabbath in addition to their own

1921 AD Speaking for Pope Benedict XV, a Vatican spokesman informed representatives of the Zionist Movement htat they did not wish to assist "the Jewish race, which is permeated with a revolutionary and rebellious spirit" to gain control over the Holy Land

1925 AD at a conference of Catholic academicians in Innsbruck, Austria, Bishop Sigismund Waitz calls the Jews an "alien people" who had corrupted England, France, Italy, and especially America

1933 AD In a series of Advent sermons, Cardinal Faulhaber of Munich defends the Old Testament against Nazi attacks but emphasizes that it is not his intention to defend contemporary Jewry, saying that a distinction has to be drawn between Jews living before and after the crucifixion of Jesus

1933 AD In a pastoral letter on January 23, Bishop Johannes Maria Gföllner of Linz, Austria, declares that while the radical anti-Semitism preached by Nazism is completely incompatible with Christianity, it is the right and duty of Christians to fight and break the harmful influences of Jewry in all areas of modern cultural life. The Austrian episcopate condemns the letter in December for causing racial hatred and conflict

1933-1939 AD The general consensus among the Catholic papers in Poland is that Jewish influence should be reduced in all areas of life, that the Polish and Jewish communities should be separated as much as possible, and that the most desirable option is mass emigration of the Jews from Poland. St. Maximilian Kolbe is an active promoter of antisemitic literature

1935-1936 AD The Polish Catholic Church gives full support to a government policy encouraging Jewish emigration from Poland

1936 AD Cardinal August Hlond, the primate of Poland, issues a pastoral letter, stating: "I warn you against that ethical attitude that is fundamentally and uncompromisingly anti-Jewish. It is contradictory to Catholic ethics. It is permissible to love your nation more than others, but it is not permissible to hate anyone. Not even the Jews... You should close yourselves to the harmful influence of Jewry... But you may not attack Jews, beat them, hurt them, slander them. In a Jew you should also respect and love a human being and your neighbor"

1937 AD Austrian bishop Alois Hudal publishes a book defending Nazi racial ideology, supporting laws preventing a flood of Jewish immigrants, and criticizing the "Jewish" press for playing off Austrians against Germans. His book receives the support of Archbishop (later Cardinal) Theodor Innitzer of Vienna

1938 AD In a speech before Belgian pilgrims, Pope Pius XI denounces antisemitism and says: "Spiritually we are all Semites." His comments are reported in various newspapers but not in the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano

1939 AD Josef Tiso, a Catholic priest with a doctorate in theology, became president of independent Slovakia. An extremist hater of Jews, he allied Slovakia with Nazi Germany and, with strong objections from the Vatican, deported most Slovakian Jews to their deaths in the camps. He declared: "It is a Christian action to expel the Jews, because it is for the good of the people, which is thus getting rid of its pests." Monsignor Tiso was executed after the war as a war criminal

1941-1945 AD The "Final Solution" takes place in Nazi-occupied Europe. This Holocaust, the killing of some six million Jews, "happened in the 'heartland' of Western Christian Europe... It happened with the passive acquiescence or active collaboration of most European Christians, and no decisive protest from church leadership, Catholic or protestant" (Rosemary Radford Ruether)

1941 AD In Croatia, Bishop Ivan Saric of Sarajevo appropriates Jewish property for his own use. His diocesan newspaper declares that "Jewish greed increases. The Jews have led Europe and the world towards disaster, moral and economic disaster. Their appetite grows till only domination of the whole world will satisfy it." Bishop Aksamovic of Djakovic teaches that "today it is the sacred duty of every citizen to prove his Aryan origins." Meanwhile, Archbishop Aloys Stepinac of Zagreb preaches in a sermon that "it is forbidden to exterminate Gypsies and Jews because they are said to belong to an inferior race"

1941 AD Provost Bernard Lichtenberg of Berlin's St. Hedwig Cathedral publicly declares that he will include Jews in his daily prayers. On October 23 he is arrested and sent to Dauchau, but dies on the way

1941 AD The German Bishops' Conference issues a pastoral letter secretly distributed and read from all pulpits. It outlines in detail the Nazi assault on the Catholic Church, but makes no mention of the Jews

1941 AD In Operational Situation Report USSR No. 54, the German Einsatzgruppen A reports from Kaunas, Lithuania: "The attitude of the Church regarding the Jewish question is, in general, clear. In addition, Bishop Brisgys has forbidden all clergymen to help Jews in any form whatsoever. He rejected several Jewish delegations who approached him personally and asked for his intervention with the German authorities. In the future he will not meet with any Jews at all"

1942 AD The French Assembly of Cardinals and Archbishops sends a letter to Marshal Pétain, head of the Vichy government, protesting against the mass arrests and cruel treatment of the French Jews

1942 AD Protest against the persecution of Dutch Jews is read from the pulpit of all churches in Holland

1942 AD In August and September, messages to be read out in their churches protesting the deportation of Jews from France are written by Archbishop Saliège of Toulouse, Bishop Théas of Montauban, Bishop Delay of Marseilles, Cardinal Gerlier of Lyon, Bishop Vanstenbergher of Bayonne, and Archbishop Moussaron of Albi

1942 AD Great Britain, the Polish Government-in-exile, Brazil, the United States, and Uruguay press Pope Pius XII to condemn the Nazi treatment of Jews. The Pope responds to this international appeal with his Christmas radio address, but does not specifically mention the Jews

1942-1945 AD Cardinal Adolf Bertram, Archbishop of Breslau and head of the German Bishops' Conference, opposes all public protest against the deportation and massacre of the Jews. He maintains a cordial relationship with Hitler, and in May 1945 he orders requiem masses for Hitler be offered in all his parishes

1943 AD At their annual meeting in Fulda, the German Catholic bishops debate whether to speak out about the Holocaust and confront Hitler with a direct accusation. They decide not to do so

1943 AD Slovakia's Catholic Bishops protest the deportation of Jews in a pastoral letter read in Latin from the pulpits. Many priests refuse to read it or insert their own negative comments

1945 AD Addressing the College of Cardinals after the end of the European war, Pope Pius XII speaks of the hundreds of priests and religious who died in Nazi concentration camps, but makes no mention of the Jews

This is just a smattering of Christian Love shown to the Jews. and yet... if I had a choice... I'd prefer the killing of our bodies instead of you trying to convert us and thereby kill our souls.

Hope this clears it up for you Anon. I'm going to bed.

Ed. Full disclosure: The above list is not mine but harvested from the web. I cannot and will not vouch for the original site or its content.

I would like to add the following. These posts came about due to proselyting by so called messianic Jews and evangelical Christians. I have no problem with individual Christians or their right to practice their faith. It is only, as it has always been, due to the fact that I do not tolerate evangelizing of Jews. My argument here is that there have been centuries of Christian persecution of the Jewish people. Now it is "love" and "zionism" that draws some Christians to try and convert Jews. We must avoid contact with these religious predators at all cost. Jewish souls are at stake. As for Christians in general, I say we have a bigger enemy that we both share: Radical Islam. The debate between Jews and Christian will be moot if we allow the USA to become hostage to Islamic extremism. If there are legitimate Christians out there (those who do not wish to convert me or my people) who were offended by my statements, I humbly apologize. I welcome dialogue and reconciliation. What I don't welcome is threats to the Jewish nation whether physical or spiritual.

Earthquake Damages Temple Mount and Shechem

(IsraelNN.com) An earthquake shook Israel at 12:37 PM Friday. The only damage reported in Israel was on the Temple Mount and near Shechem (Nablus).

The earthquake measured 5.3 on the Richter scale; its epicenter was located in northeastern Lebanon. Earlier last week an earthquake measuring 4.1 was felt in northern Israel, also originating from Lebanon, near its northern city of Tyre.

A large hole opened up on the Temple Mount during Friday's earthquake (click here for pictures), which was soon covered by officials from the Wakf Islamic Authority that administers the mosques built atop Judaism’s holiest site.

The only other reported damage in the Holy Land was incurred between Palestinian Authority-controlled Shechem (Nablus) and Jenin, where an old home collapsed, blocking the main road to the village of Khufin. The village is not far from the site of the Biblical Joseph’s Tomb, which was set ablaze by Muslim vandals last week.

At least five people were injured and two homes were destroyed in southern Lebanon as a result of Friday’s quake.

Wakf Officials Blame IsraelWakf officials tried to blame Israel for the 6-foot by 5-foot hole, which is about three feet deep, claiming it was caused by Israel, which it accuses of tunneling beneath the Temple Mount. They demanded an end to all Israeli excavations in the area.

Though several excavation projects are taking place around the Western Wall Plaza, none of them entail tunneling past the wall itself and beneath the mount. The Wakf’s official position is that there was never a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount and has gone to great efforts to erase archaeological evidence of Judaism’s historical ties to the site.

Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz issued a statement rejecting the Muslim claims. "These are mendacious reports without a grain of truth," he said, adding that work in the Temple Mount compound would be contrary to Jewish law. “Such claims are a desecration and cause hatred and incitement for no reason whatsoever,” Rabbi Rabinowitz said. He stressed that work on the Rambam (Mughrabi) Gate ramp to the Temple Mount is vital for the safety of those who visit the Western Wall and called on the authorities to finish the work speedily.

"And on that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem from the east. And the Mount of Olives shall split in the midst thereof-toward the east and toward the west-a very great valley. And half the mountain shall move to the north, and half of it to the south.

And you shall flee to the valley of the mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach Azal. And you shall flee as you fled because of the earthquake, in the days of Uzziah the King of Judah. And the Lord,my God, shall come; all holy ones with you."

February 13, 2008

A stone seal bearing the name of one of the families who acted as servants in the First Temple and then returned to Jerusalem after being exiled to Babylonia has been uncovered in an archeological excavation in Jerusalem's City of David, a prominent Israeli archeologist said Wednesday.

The 2,500-year-old black stone seal, which has the name "Temech" engraved on it, was found earlier this week amid stratified debris in the excavation under way just outside the Old City walls near the Dung Gate, said archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, who is leading the dig.

According to the Book of Nehemiah, the Temech family were servants of the First Temple and were sent into exile to Babylon following its destruction by the Babylonians in 586 BCE.

The family was among those who later returned to Jerusalem, the Bible recounts.

The seal, which was bought in Babylon and dates to 538-445 BCE, portrays a common and popular cultic scene, Mazar said.

The 2.1 x 1.8-cm. elliptical seal is engraved with two bearded priests standing on either side of an incense altar with their hands raised forward in a position of worship.

A crescent moon, the symbol of the chief Babylonian god Sin, appears on the top of the altar.

Under this scene are three Hebrew letters spelling Temech, Mazar said.

The Bible refers to the Temech family: "These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city." [Nehemiah 7:6]... "The Nethinim [7:46]"... The children of Temech." [7:55].

The fact that this cultic scene relates to the Babylonian chief god seemed not to have disturbed the Jews who used it on their own seal, she added.

The seal of one of the members of the Temech family was discovered just dozens of meters away from the Opel area, where the servants of the Temple, or "Nethinim," lived in the time of Nehemiah, Mazar said.

"The seal of the Temech family gives us a direct connection between archeology and the biblical sources and serves as actual evidence of a family mentioned in the Bible," she said. "One cannot help being astonished by the credibility of the biblical source as seen by the archaeological find."

The find will be announced by Mazar at the 8th annual Herzliya Conference on Sunday.

The archeologist, who rose to international prominence for her recent excavation that may have uncovered King David's palace, most recently uncovered the remnants of a wall from Nehemiah.

The dig is being sponsored by the Shalem Center, a Jerusalem research institute where Mazar serves as a senior fellow, and the City of David Foundation, which promotes Jewish settlement throughout east Jerusalem.

February 07, 2008

Okay, here it is... as you all know I do not receive terumah or ma'aser and my guess is I won't until Mashiach comes. That being said, I have been doing this site for a few years now and I am reaching out for some help to keep it going.

You may also notice the Ad Sense links. In the past I had avoided doing this as I do not like the way it looks, but the (financial) times are a-changing.

If you have any desire and want to help, please click on an ad and help out an old Kohain. Also, I have added a "Donate" button to the side bar. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.